Waterproof shipping package



Dec. 11, 1934. P. u. MORRISROE 8 1,983,868

WATERPROOF SHIPPING PACKAGE Filed May 20, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOF? Wm w ATTORNEY-5 1934- P. J. MORRISROE WATER-PROOF SHIPPING PACKAGE Filed May 20, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v N VENTO 7 Paw/7101117. Alana/L5]? 06.

BY WW4 w/ T/VESS Patented Dec. 11, 1934 v UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE WATERPROOF SHIPPING PACKAGE Patrick J. Morrisroe, Youngstown, Ohio Application May 20, 1931, Serial No. 538,639 3 Claims. (01. 206-60) The present invention is directed to the provision of an improved waterproof package adapted to protect sheets, plates and the like from damage during shipment caused by contact with water or atmospheric dampness and also to afford protection against bending or abrasion during the handling of the packages.

Metal sheets and plates, more particularly those classes of sheets known to the trade as full finished sheets, galvanized sheets and the like, are ordinarily shipped in packs or bundles which have heretofore usually been wrapped in heavy waterproofed paper for the purpose of protecting the sheets from moisture, and each paper wrapped package has sometimes been wrapped in a metal covering sheet, the latter being folded at the ends in a manner similar to that employed for wrapping ordinary packages in paper. The folding of the covering sheet, however, is a difficult operation and usually results in the sheet becoming wrinkled; in such cases it has beencustomary to flatten the wrinkles by hammering with a wooden mallet or similar tool, but it oftenhappens that this tears the waterproof paper underneaththe cov-- ering sheet, so that the sheets or other. articles within the package are thenceforth not fully protected. against moisture during subsequent shipment or other exposure of the package, and

1 rusting of the sheets, or white rusting of the galvanized coating thereof, ensues.

So far as I am aware, no satisfactory package for sheets of this class has heretofore been devised which is capable of affording full pro tectionto the sheets against moisture encountered during transit, and it has therefore been the usual practice to ship the packages of sheets from the mill in closed box cars'either-direct to their ultimate destination or to a designated port when a shipment by-boat is required, in order to protect the sheets from exposure to the weather. On arrival at the port, it is then nec essary to manually unload the packages from the box car before they can be picked up by the cranes usually employed for loading ships at a dock, so that it is readily apparent that a substantial portion of the shipping costs of sheets and the like results from. the necessity of avoiding {exposure of the packages to the weather! A principal object of my invention, therefore, is toprovide a' package which is impermeable to moisture, thus permitting the packaged sheets to be loaded in openffreight cars at the mill and transferred directly from the open cars into the hold of a ship when run alongside thereof at the dock, as when they are to form part of a water borne cargo, or to be safely shipped in such cars to the consignee when transfer to a boat is not required to reach their ultimate des- 5 tination.

A further object of my invention is to provide a weatherproof package in which the corners of the sheets are protected from bending under the influence of blows received during handling 10 or shipment whereby the damage to the sheets which commonly results from such sources is substantially eliminated. V A further object of my invention is to provide a package for sheets and the like which is completely sealed whereby the rusting of uncoated sheets or the white rusting of coated or galvanized sheets due to contact of water o-rmoisture'with the sheets is prevented.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a package in which the wrapping material is so arranged that any water or' moisture deposited upon the top of the package will tend to'runjoif rather than into the package;' which may be cheaply and rapidly constructed; which provides a'convenient receptacle for the sheets after it is opened and through the use of which the receipt of the sheets in perfect condition by the customer is substantially assured.

Other purposes,objectsandadvantages of my invention are herafter pointed out or will be understood from the'following description'of a preferred embodiment thereof, in which referenc'ewill be had to the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that my improved package is progressively built up to its ultimate form, and'the said drawings are designed to show, somewhat diagrammatically, the succession of steps incident to the construction of a preferred embodiment of the invention which comprisesjessentially, a wrapping of waterproof paper about the pack of sheets, a metallic covering therefor formed of upper and lower complementary sections, 'mans, generally in the form of-wires, for maintaining the parts in assmbled relation, and, preferably, a pair of supporting skids. Thus, in the drawings, the first eight figures of which are in perspective, Fig. 1 shows thefskids with binding wires, associated therewith in position to receive the lower sec-' tion of the metallic covering; Fig. 2 shows the said section disposed on the skids with the sheet of waterproof wrapping paper (indicated in dot and dash lines) in position to receive'the pack of sheets, portions of the paper and cover sec 55 tion being-broken away for the sake of clearness; Fig. 3 shows the sheets lowered into the cover section upon the paper; Fig. 4 shows the paper sealed about the sheets and the ends of the lower cover section cut preparatory to folding; Fig. 5 shows the same parts after the ends of the cover section have been completely folded, as well as the upper cover section just prior to its being lowered into place; Fig. 6 shows the upper cover section in position over the lower cover section with its ends cut and folded into place; Fig. 7 shows the strips which are preferably disposed on the upper surface of the upper cover section preparatory to the parts being bound together, and Fig. 8 shows the completed package. Fig. 9 is a transverse section through a pack of sheets preparatory to their being enclosed in the package and 'showing associated therewith an edge protector which, under some conditions, may desirably be employed. Like characters of reference are used. to designate the same parts throughout the drawings, and it will be understood that in the latter the relative thickness of the sheet metal parts, paper and the like has necessarily been exaggerated.

More particularly in the formation of my improved package, I first provide a pair of skids l which may be wooden strips of sufficient width and thickness to afford the desired strength and of substantially the same length as the pack of sheets. To the under sides of the skids longitudinal tie wires 2 or any other convenient binding means, such as metal straps, are next secured, as by staples or the like, while on top of the skids at suitably spaced intervals are placed lateral tie wires3 extending transversely of the skids which are disposed parallel to each other on a floor or other suitable support (Fig. 1). Next, the lower cover section 4 of sheet metal of channel section is placed symmetrically on the skids, the cover section 4 being several inches longer and wider than the pack of sheets to be wrapped, so that when in position on the skids it projects somewhat beyond the ends and sides thereof, its sides thus extending upward substantially at right angles to its bottom (Fig. 2). A sheet of waterproof paper 5 is now placed on the upper edges of the.cover section4 and apack of sheets P lowered into it between its bent-up sides and substantially centrally thereof, thus carrying the adjacent portion of the paper 5 downwardly (Fig. 3), and an angular corner protector 6 of metal or other suitable material is desirably placed adjacent each of the corners of the pack to protect the sheets against damage at these points. The lateral margins of the paper 5 are next folded over the top of the pack and the ends of the paper inwardly against the ends of the pack with the outer folds pointing downwardly, after whichall seams may be sealed by application of tar 7, or any other suitable sealing material, so as to completely seal the interior of the package against the admission of moisture (Fig. 4). It will be understood that a completely waterproof package has now been provided, but as the waterproofing is obtained from use of the waterproof paper which is readily torn in transit if not protected, the lower cover section 4 and similar complementary. upper cover section 8 formed of sheet metal of suitable thickness are arranged outside this package for the protection of the paper as well as of the sheets enclosed therein.

After the sealing of the paper package has been completed, the ends of the lower cover section 4 are cut out as indicated at 9 and the remaining portions thereof folded inwardly (Fig. 5), after which the upper cover section 8, which is of substantially the same size and shape as the lower section, is lowered into place over the package and its ends out along the lines a and folded inwardly and downwardly along the lines I) (Fig. 6), thus providing a complete metal encased waterproof package, the relatively heavy outer metal covering of which is devoid of wrinkles and fully effective to prevent the tearing of the inner waterproof paper covering and/or damage to the sheets from impact during handling or transit. Under certain circumstances it may be more. convenient to cut the ends of either or both cover sections before they are disposed about the sheets.

The package is now in condition for tying, and to. prevent the. wrinkling of the cover or damage to the. ends of the pack of sheets from the pressurev thereagainst of the tie wires, as,

well as to. afford additional rigidity to the pack-. age, I preferably providelongitudinal strips 10' of wood of substantially the same length asv the upper cover section and place them. on top of the. latter in alignment with the longitudinal tie wires 2, while metallic or. other suitable. corner protectors 11 may be disposed at the corner edges of the package for engagementtherewith.

under the several tie wires to prevent the lat-, ter from cutting said edges. and the longitudinal tie wires are thereafter respectively brought together over the package and tied or twisted. together in the. usual way or, otherwise. united by any means suitable to in-. sure their tightly holding the several parts. of. the package in proper relation. Thev package, as shown in Fig. 8, is then ready for-shipment.

As. will be apparent from an inspection of,

prises merely a. sheet. of metal 12'suitab1y. bent; up at right angles adjacent. its lateral edgesuto, form a trough. within which the pack. of sheets;

isreceived beforebeing lowered into the outer covering4 and paper'5 as hereinabove described with reference to Fig. 3; it may desirably. be employed whenthe packageis likely tobe sub.- jected to exceptionally rough handling on when there is a possibility that crowbars orother levers may be inserted beneath its lower lateral.

corners to assist in movingit' about.

I have found that my improvedpackage is.

fully effective to prevent damage to the sheetsfrom rusting or other deterioration due to moisture, even when the packages are shipped-in open freight cars during wet weather, and also when transported by sea where the atmospheric moisture quickly. attacks substantiallyall base metals. not properly protected 1 thereagainst.

Add ti a my pr d atkaseis adapted to prevent injury to the edges and corners of. the

sheets from impact resulting from rough handling. orthelike while the rigidity ofthe, outer metal covering. supplemented bythe skids-1 andv the strips 10 is suff cient to preventbending. of the sheets ,andthe latter are thusreceived, after Both, the lateral.

transit, in substantially the same condition in which they were originally packed.

When the package reaches the consumer it can be readily opened by cutting the tie wires, raising the upper cover section and tearing away the waterproof paper, thus exposing the topmost sheet of the pack. Under conditions in which but a few sheets are removed at a time, the unused remainder of the pack may desirably be left in the bottom of the package and the upper cover section replaced until such time as further sheets are required. This feature is one which has a considerable appeal to users of sheets since it facilitates keeping unused sheets in good condition after the package has been opened as well as providing a convenient and suitable receptacle for containing them.

While I have herein described a preferred embodiment of my invention with considerable particularity, it will be understood that I do not desire or intend to limit myself specifically thereto as, if desired, numerous changes and modifications may be made therein, such, for example, as the substitution of metal binding strips for the tie wires, or the use of metal instead of wooden skids for the support of the package or omission of the edge and corner protectors or variation in their form and arrangement and the like and, further, that the order of performing the various operations incident to the formation of the package may be varied from that to which I have referred, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States:

1. A package enclosing a pack of sheets and comprising a waterproof paper wrapping surrounding the pack, corner protectors disposed at the corners of the pack within said wrapping, means adapted to seal the seams of said wrapping, a relatively rigid metallic outer cover comprising a pair of telescopic sections and completely enclosing said wrapping, and rigid stiffening means secured underneath the outer cover adapted to support the package.

2. A package enclosing a pack of sheets and comprising a waterproof paper wrapping surrounding the pack, corner protectors disposed at the corners of the pack within said wrapping, means adapted to seal the seams of said wrapping, a relatively rigid metallic outer cover comprising a pair of telescopic sections and completely enclosing said wrapping, skids secured underneath the outer cover adapted to support the package, and binding means extending both longitudinally and transversely about the cover operative to hold the sections thereof in assembled relation.

3. A weatherproof shipping package for a pack of sheets comprising a wrapping of waterproof paper folded about and wholly enclosing the pack and having its seams sealed against the entrance of moisture, corner protectors disposed adjacent the corners of the sheets, a cover wholly enclosing said wrapping and protectors and comprising a pair of complementary telescopic upper and lower sections formed of sheet metal and having their ends cut and folded inwardly, the marginal edges of the upper section extending downwardly over the corresponding edges of the lower section, skids disposed in spaced parallel relation beneath the lower section and extending longitudinally thereof, strips disposed in parallel relation on the upper surface of the upper section and extending longitudinally thereof, binding wires extending longitudinally about both sections along said skids and strips, and other binding wires extending transversely about both sections whereby the latter are maintained in assembled relation.

PATRICK J. MORRISROE. 

